Welfare groups call for increased rental subsidies.

Updated
May 10, 2013 09:43:00

The National Welfare Rights Network says more than 150,000 low income earners are spending more than half their income on rent and they say the number of people living in 'housing stress' is increasing. The welfare advocates are pushing for an increase in rent assistance for low-income earners.

TONY EASTLEY: Welfare advocates are urging the Federal Government to increase rental assistance for low income earners.

The National Welfare Rights Network says more than 150,000 low income Australians are spending more than half their income in rent.

It says the number of people living in 'housing stress' is increasing.

The Federal Government says the long-term answer is to increase the amount of affordable housing.

Social affairs reporter, Sally Sara.

SALLY SARA: It's the number one expense for many on low incomes and government benefits. Increasing rents are making it harder and harder for the poor to find housing.

The National Welfare Rights Network says the Government's own figures show that 40 per cent of people living on income support payments are experiencing housing stress - in other words, they spend more than 30 per cent of their income on rent.

The head of the Welfare Rights Centre, Maree O'Halloran says rent assistance is helpful, but needs to be increased.

MAREE O'HALLORAN: Commonwealth Rent Assistance does a good job. If it wasn't there, we would have more people in housing stress. So, that's number one.

The main problem is, that the Commonwealth Rental Assistance, hasn't kept up with the rental index. So, if rents have been increasing, by on average, 10 per cent, as they were up to 2009, the Commonwealth Rental Assistance had only been increasing by 2.7 per cent.

SALLY SARA: Kerry Arch is a member of the national Single Parents Action Group. She says some families are struggling to get by.

KERRY ARCH: Especially now on Newstart. It's just got ridiculous, now that, you know, they are paying half their money on rent and then utilities. You go to the welfare agencies and they're inundated and they can't see you for another week or so because they don't have the funds or the resources there.

MARK BUTLER: The Government has been very conscious of the rental stress. So that's why we put in place the National Rental Affordability Scheme which at the moment is adding several hundred affordable rental properties which must be rented at 20 per cent below market rate - adding several hundred affordable rental properties to the market every single month.

SALLY SARA: The National Welfare Rights Network says single parents, young people, those with disabilities and single retired women are most at risk.

Maree O Halloran says the Federal Government must ensure that rent assistance keeps pace with the reality of the market.

MAREE O'HALLORAN: They need to make a bigger investment and obviously phase it in over time. But, we would be calling for an increase, of a 30 per cent increase for the Commonwealth rent assistance. The indexation to CPI is just not how rents work.

SALLY SARA: But Housing Minister Mark Butler believes any available funds should be put into the start of the pipeline, to encourage the building of more rental properties. He warns that increasing rental assistance could make the market even more inflated.

MARK BUTLER: Any increase to that assistance would simply be gobbled up by rent increases put in place by landlords.

I think that is also a concern reflected in the recent Senate inquiry where they deliberately did not recommend an increase to Commonwealth rent assistance or a change to those issues.

Really, our focus is on increasing supply. Any money that we have available, I would be inclined to put into the supply side, so that there are simply more affordable rental properties in the market.